Thumb tack sorting apparatus



Oct. 8, 1957 J. J. REILLY 2,808,930

THUMB TACK SORTING APPARTUS Filed May 20. 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l Oct. 8, 1957 J. J. REILLY THUMB TACK soRTING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 20, 1954 INVENTOR Ja/7765 Rea'ly ATTORNEYS United States Patent THUMB TACK SORTING APPARATUS James I. Reilly, Derby, Conn., assigner to The Waterbury Tack Company, Inc., Shelton, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application May 20, 1954, Serial No. 431,035

12 Claims. (Cl. 209-72) This invention relates to methods and apparatus for sorting tacks or similar articles, for the purpose of separating good from bad or imperfect tacks.

The invention is described specifically in connection with the sorting of thumb tacks; however, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to this particular use or application, since it has utility and advantage in connection with the sorting of articles similar to or like thumb tacks, which are characterized by having shank and head or body portions.

In the manufacture of thumb tacks the shanks are sometimes defective because of the formation or retention of flash or surplus material. Such flash may extend for the entire length of the shank on opposite sides thereof, or it may be located mainly at the tip of the shank on either one or both sides, or the tip may be imperfectly formed and left with some excess material which cannot be readily removed by tumbling. These various defects in the tacks are obviously undesirable from the customers standpoint, and accordingly it becomes necessary to segregate and remove the inferior tacks from the production lot in order to insure uniformly high quality of the product.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved and simplified method and apparatus for quickly and effectively separating tacks which are formed with perfect shanks, from a quantity of tacks in which are included tacks having shank defects of the above type.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved method and apparatus as set forth above, utilizing the principle of a rotating, horizontally-mounted barrel, whereby a segregation or separation which is largely continuous is had, without involving stoppages of appreciable duration for Afeeding or loading the apparatus, removing perfect and imperfect tacks, etc.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved sorting apparatus in accordance with the above, which will deliver over a certain period of time a continuous flow of acceptable products and will be able to receive a continuous ow or supply of the product which is to be screened or separated.

A feature of the invention resides in the provision of apparatus of the type set forth immediately above, wherein a large capacity is provided within the apparatus to accommodate the rejected product, thus enabling the equipment to be operated for a considerable length of time before the rejects have to be removed.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved, barrel-type sorter in accordance with the above, which has a large capacity so that it can handle a fairly substantial volume of production.

Another feature of the invention resides in the provision of an improved and simplified apparatus of the above type, which is relatively simple and inexpensive in its construction, sturdy and reliable in operation, and which has relatively few moving parts and is not likely lto get out of order easily.

2,808,930 Patented Oct. 8, `1,957

ice

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a defective thumb tack rejectable by the apparatus of this invention, showing flash on opposite sides of the shank. Y

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of another defective thumb tack rejectable by the apparatus of this invention, showing flash or excess material on opposite sides of the point of the shank.

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of another defective thumb tack rejectable by the apparatus of this invention, having a burr on the tip of the shank.

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the tack sorting or segregating apparatus of this invention.

Fig. 5 is a View partly in end elevation and partly in section, of the apparatus of Fig. 4 taken on line 5-5 of this preceding figure.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view partly in section and partly in elevation, of the uppermost portion o-f the apparatus, illustrating the action of a tack-dislodging roller.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view of the peripheral wall of a main, barrel-shaped part of the apparatus, showing acceptable tacks having their shanks disposed in apertures in the wall of said part.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary section of the wall of the barrel-shaped part, showing a means for fastening inte- Irior strips or ribs thereon, and showing in detail the shapes of perforations in said wall.

Referring to Fig. l, the imperfect thumb tack 10 there depicted is of the usual type having a round or button head 11 and a pointed shank 12, the shank being imperfect because of the presence of flash 13 on its opposite sides. In Fig. 2 an imperfect thumb tack 14 is shown, having a head 15 and a shank 16, the latter having objectionable flash 17 on opposite sides of its pointed end. In Fig. 3 an imperfect thumb tack 18 is shown, having a head 19 and a shank 20 the latter having a burr 21 on its pointed end.

Imperfect tacks of the type shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 are rejected by the apparatus of the present invention, and are separated from all other tacks which have perfectly formed shanks.

The improved apparatus of the invention, referring to` Figs. 4 and 5, comprises a relatively large barrel or d-rum 22 mounted horizontally for rotation about a horizontal axis. The barrel 22 has an open end 23 and a closed end 24, the latter being provided with a sturdy supporting structure or spider 25 having webs 26. The spider 25 is carried by and rigidly secured to one end of a sturdy shaft 27 rotatably mounted in bearings 28 and driven by means of sprocket wheels 29, 30 and a chain 31 from a speed reducer unit 32 powered by a motor 33 through a belt drive 34.

The peripheral wall 35 of the barrel 22 is provided with a multiplicity of holes or perforations 36, Figs. 4, 6, 7 and 8, said perforations having tapered, enlarged inner ends and being preferably disposed in longitudinally extending rows equispaced about the periphery of the barrel.

Between the rows of perforations 36 are provided strips of tacks such as those shown in Figs. 13. In Figs. 5,

6 and 7 thumb tacks having perfectly formed shanks are shown carried by the wall of the barrel, the shanks extending completely into the perforations 36.

I have found that with a barrel construction as described above, a production run of tacks may be readily sorted by placing the tacks in the barrel and slowly rotating the latter. This will effect a carrying-out of the method of the invention. The mass of tacks will be supported in the lower portions of the barrel and will be continuously tumbled as the barrel turns. Those tacks having perfectly-formed Shanks will find places on the inner wall of the barrel as shown in Figs. 5 and 7, while all tacks having improperly formed shanks of the types shown in Figs` 1 3 will not be carried in the perforations of the barrel wall. The tacks with perfectly-formed shanks will be carried up by the ascending wall of the barrel, leaving the tacks with imperfectly-formed Shanks to continue tumbling in the lower portion of the barrel. As the ascending wall portions approach the top, the acceptable tacks carried thereby will drop out and may beV caught ina suitable receptacle.

Some tacks which might be retained and might not readily drop out are positively dislodged, by the method andapparatus ofthe invention, through the provision of a roller 40 which I mount at the top of the barrel 22, engaging the outside peripheral wall thereof. The roller 40 is carried on a spindle 41 rotatable in bearings 42 mounted on stanchions 43. Preferably the roller 40 has friction rings 44 adjacent its ends, engaging the barrel 22 to provide a friction drive. Thus a separate drive is not required for the roller.

In Fig. 6 the roller 4t) is shown about to forcibly dis lodge a tack 47a which is carried by the wall 35 of the barrel 22.

By this invention, in order to retain the tacks which are being tumbled in the barrel 22 and prevent them from owing out of .the open end 23 of the barrel, a segment-shaped plate 4S is provided, constituting a closure for the lower portion of the barrel 22. The plate 4S is stationary and may be carried by any suitable means such as a bracket 46 secured to the base of the machine.

Referring to Fig. 5 tacks 47 having perfectly-formed Shanks are shown falling from the ascending wall of the barrel. 22. To collect these tacks I provide a chute 48 having side flanges 49, said chute being supported by a stanchion 43 and extending into the barrel 22 through the open end 23 thereof. The chute 48 slopes downward from the barrel and has a suicient slope to enable the falling tacks 47 to slide along the chute by gravity and be discharged therefrom into a container 50 for receiving the tacks o-acceptable quality.

For the purpose of providing a continuous Supply of tacks to the barrel 22 I provide a second chute 51 extending downward into the barrel through the open end 23 thereof. The upper end of the chute 51 is disposed below a supply hopper 52 into which the production run of tacks is deposited. A controlled ow of tacks may be established from the hopper 52, approximately matching the iow of tacks leaving the chute 48. Or, alternatively a certain quantity of tacks from the hopper S2 may be deposited in the barrel 22 by means of the chtite S1 and then the supply discontinued for a period, until the said quantity has been processed to remove the good from the bad.

After a predetermined run, the barrel 22 may be halted and the tacks remaining in the lower portion of the barrel removed and scrapped or else re-processed, if this latter is found to be economical.

In order to facilitate the depositing of the good-quality tacks in the perforations of the wall 35 of the barrel I provide a sweeping means comprising a rotary brush 53 inside of the barrel 22 adjacent the ascending wall thereof and extending longitudinally of the barrel. The brush 53 is carried on a spindle 54 rotatably in bearings 5S on a frame 56 which extends into the barrel through the open end 23 thereof. The frame S6 is mounted by means of an angle bracket 57 on a vertical stanchion 43, as shown in Fig. 4. On the brush spindle S4 a gear 53 is carried, meshing with a gear 59 driven by a pulley 60 and belt 61, the latter passing over a drive pulley 62 on a shaft 63 connected with the speed reducer 32. The direction of rotation of the rotary brush 53 is opposite to that of the barrel 22, and in Fig. 5 the directions of the brush and barrel are indicated by arrows, being respectively counterclockwise and clockwise.

To further facilitate the operation of separating good tacks from the bad I provide a scraper blade 64 within the barrel 22, said blade being positioned adjacent and above the rotary brush 53 and being pivotally carried by the frame 56. The blade 64 is arranged to engage and dislodge any tacks which might be projecting an appreciable distance from the inside wall of the barrel 22. Thus if anr imperfectly formed tack should by chance partially enter a perforation 36 it would be dislodged by the scraper 64 and would be prevented from dropping on the chute 43 along with perfectly formed tacks.

It will be readily seen that by the present invention I have provided a novel, improved and simplified method and apparatus for sorting tacks to separate those having perfectly formed shanks from those with imperfectly formed Shanks. The apparatus of the invention has relatively few moving parts, is rugged in construction and reliable in its operation. It employs a virtually continuous process of segregation in a predetermined interval of time, as tacks may be continually fed to the barrel at the same rate that tacks leave it via the chute 4S. I have found that the efticiency of the operation is very high, and that no defective tacks are ever included with the good ones.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of the claims and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

i claim:

i. Apparatus for sorting thumb tacks and the like comprisingv a barrel mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis, the peripheral walls of the barrel having through perforations adapted to receive, with a close 'sliding tit, perfectly-formed shanks of thumb tacks or the like, one end of said barrel being open; a stationary closure plate extending across the lower portion of the open end of the barrel, for preventing tacks which are deposited in the barrel from falling out; means for depositing tacks from a source of supply into the barrel through the open end thereof; and means disposed within the barrel for catching tacks whose Shanks have entered the perforations in the wall of the barrel when the said tacks fall from said wall during the rotation of the barrel.

2. The invention as defined in claim l in which there are means disposed within the barrel adjacent and extending alcng the ascending wall thereof for sweeping downward over said wall any loose tacks which are being carried upward by the Wall as the barrel rotates.

3. The invention as defined in claim 2 in which the sweeping means comprises a rotary brush having a rotation which is opposite to that of the barrel.

4. The invention as dened in claim 3 in which there is a frame extending through the open end of the barrel into the latter and along the ascending wall thereof, and in which there are bearings carried by said frame, rotatably mounting the said rotary brush.

5. The invention as defined in claim 3 in which there is a scraper disposed within the barrel and extending longitudinally along and adjacent to the ascending wall, said scraper being disposed above and adjacent to the rotary brush, and in which there is a frame extending into the barrel through the open end thereof, carrying both said rotary brush and scraper.

6. The invention as defined in claim l in which there is a. plurality of ribs on the interior peripheral walls of the barrel, extending longitudinally of the barrel and disposed in spaced relation to each other, for effecting a tumbling of the tacks as the barrel rotates.

7. The invention as deined in claim l in which there is a roller extending longitudinally of the barrel and engaging the exterior peripheralV wall thereof adjacent ascenso the top of the barrel, said roller being adapted to engage the shanks of tacks which are lodged in the perforations of the barrel wall and to dislodge said tacks so that they fall downward in the barrel away from the said wall.

8. The invention as defined in claim 1 in which the barrel has a closed end provided with a supporting structure by which the barrel is rotated and wholly supported.

9. The invention as defined in claim 1 in which the means for catching the falling tacks comprises a chute disposed within the barrel and extending downward and out of the barrel through the open end thereof, the slope of the chute being suicient to cause the falling tacks to slide down it and out of the barrel.

10. The invention as defined in claim 1 in which the means for feeding tacks into the barrel comprises an inclined chute extending into the barrel through the open end thereof.

11. The invention as defined in claim 1 in which there is a scraper disposed within the barrel and extending longitudinally thereof along the ascending wall of the barrel, said scraper displacing tacks which are being carried upward by the ascending wall and which project inward from the wall.

12. An apparatus for sorting thumb tacks and the like comprising a barrel mounted for rotation, the peripheral wall of the barrel having perforations adapted to receive, with a close sliding t, perfectly-formed shanks of thumb tacks or the like, means for depositing tacks from a source of supply into the barrel, and means disposed within the barrel for catching tacks whose Shanks have entered the perforatons in the wall of the barrel when the said tacks fall from said wall during the rotation of the barrel.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,070,092 Wright et al. Aug. 12, 1913 1,213,239 Noll Jan. 23, 1917 1,808,806 Cooper June 9, 1931 2,427,410 Krasa Sept. 16, 1947 

